We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Marisol Del Valle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Marisol, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?

I have been drawing on and off since I was a kid. The thought of being a creative and pursuing a career as one didn’t occur to me until my 30’s. Even though I would have loved to start at a younger age, I think it happened at a good time in my life. When I was younger, I didn’t have much focus or discipline like I do now. I may have been too immature to see art more than anything but a hobby. Some of my family didn’t think that art was something that would be sustainable as a true career and I didn’t see it until I just decided to give it a shot and go with my gut. The people around me influenced me a lot back then. I needed time to grow and figure out how to prove them wrong and make a living doing what I enjoy.

Marisol, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After an accident, I was home more than I liked to be. I decided to pass the time playing online games. The artwork always stood out to me. The sites that I would play on made me happy, almost nostalgic, like when you got up just in time for cereal and Saturday morning cartoons. I wanted to be a part of it. Not just playing but being the one behind items and characters that people would grow to love, ones that would make them happy or that made some sort of connection with them. After trying to garner attention, entering random art contest on a specific site, I managed to get my artwork on that sites news feed. From there I began to join more sites and draw fan art in their forums. Not too long after, I started my art career drawing items and making graphics for various online virtual pet site communities. Over time I developed my art style, created my own characters and began to add them to merchandise like stickers and prints, going to conventions to meet people and set up at artist alleys/art events.

What I am most proud of is finding my way through a hard time in my life, finding something that made me happy and taking that to transform it into something I could inspire others with. Because of my artwork I have been able to donate to several charities and build an art community, meeting many amazing people along the way.

The main thing I would like to do is continue to inspire, bring people joy and teach others to do the same with their creativity.

How did you build your audience on social media?

The majority of my social media following comes from the art community. Early on, I was part of several groups that did art challenges and monthly prompts. Things like this help not only by giving you ideas on what to draw but with engagement. I would definitely recommend an artist to find one that they like. A lot of us would comment or like to show support and give constructive criticism. It has been super helpful in my growth as an artist. After a while, friendships were made and we helped each other more that just as fellow artists. If someone was having a hard time, there was always someone to talk to. I have been really lucky with some of the people I got to connect with from it.

The more you post, the more people can find you, and my audience went from friends and family to people who liked my work, not only as fellow artists but as collectors. People that I meet at events will follow to keep updated on when I will be in their area again and connect. I have also met people that wanted to collaborate together.

Don’t focus on your follower count, focus on your work. Post consistently and engage with other peoples posts to build relationships and the followers will come in time. Try not to compare yourself to others negatively. Everyone is different, and their journeys are different. Learn from others and be inspired but don’t compare.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is knowing that my artwork means something to someone. When I meet people and their face lights up when they see a piece they connect with. Or when a young artist asks me for advice and they grow up loving what they do and expressing themselves freely. I didn’t have people pushing me or telling me that art was a good choice in life so I would like to be a small inspiration to those who don’t have a positive community behind them. I am blessed to have the opportunities that I have and I continue to grow as a person with each piece and experience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dzhelasi.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/dzhelasi
• Facebook: www.fb.com/Dzhelasi.Art
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/dzhelasi

Image Credits
Kim Sowa/Artistech Photography